Mattress



WILLIAM WILLIAMS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF ANDRICHARD D. GOODWVIN, OF SAME PLACE.

FLOATING MATTRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 31,048, dated January 1, 1861.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM WILLIAMS, of the city and county of St.Louis and State of Missouri, have invented an Improved Life-Preservingor Floating Mattress; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawing, making part of this specification, in which Figurel is a top View of my said improved mattress. Fig. 2 a horizontalsection through the same, and Fig. 3 represents a top view of a numberof the said. mattresses, lashed together, to form a raft or bottom of ascow, the sides of which are shown by Fig. 4.

The object of my invention is to make a mattress which shall at onceserve the purpose of an easy bed and an efficient life preserver, andwhich canbe made in a raft or boat, by lashing a number of themtogether. This object I propose to effect by making first a series ofindia rubber tubes or fines. (Shown'in the drawing by A A & C.) Thesetubes I unite longitudinally to form the body of the bed or mattress,and their upper ends-I make to open in a pouch or bag B made of the samematerial, which serves for the pillow or bolster. The lower end of thesaid lines I close air and water tight, by either lashing them with acord or introducing in their ends a metal mouth piece, into which Iscrew a stopper, shown by O. In the upper side of the bolster 'I bolsterare made of. Through this flange eyelet holes are to be made as shownand through these eyelet holes a small rope is to be laced, whereby twoor more of the mattresses may be lashed together so as to form a raft asshown in Fig. 8. This raft may be converted into a scow by applying theinflated gunwales shown by Fig. 4 to the edge thereof. The said gunwalesare made and inflated the same as the mattress. The flues may be used tostore anything in and rigging may be fixed in the scow or raft to sailit by.

That I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isThe arrangement of the continuous flange P; with its eyelets, and cordlaced through the same, and the inflated gunwale, with the mattress thewhole to be made substantially in the manner described.

IVILLIAM WVILLIAMS.

Vitnesses C. E. GRAY, H. S. F IRMAi I.

